Cutter for paper and board stock



Sept. 10, 1935. R R, MATTHEWS 2,013,893

'CUTTER FOR PAPFR AND BCARD STOCK Filed March 9 1934 j I Zlvwcntot 1/Ross RMalf/zews "/c/K J' 2 8/ 2a 83 W Patented Sept. 10, 1935 UNITEDSTATES cu'rraaroamraaannnoann STOCK- Boas B. Matthews, Seattle, Walla,assignor of one-halftoIsaaoP.Matthewa, Seattle, Wash.

Application March a, 19:4, Serial No. 114,801

BClaima. (am-1s) My invention relates to cutters such as are used byprinters, sign shops, photographers, schools. and the like for cuttingpaper or board stock, trimming the edges thereof, and for squaring upstock.

Usually a shear is employed for such purposes, but the shears availableare expensive, and it is diilicult to keep them sharp and true.Furthermore, they will not operate satisfactorily on heavy stock, havinga tendency to crush it. It is an object of my invention to provide adevice which will serve such a purpose, which will operatesatisfactorily for stock of diflerent thicknesses, and which can bemanufactured and sold at a low price, and one in which the cuttingelements consist of an ordinary razor blade which can be purchasedcheaply anywhere and which can be sharpened or easily replaced.

Such razor blades are quite flexible, hence it is a further object todevise such a cutter adapted to the use of razor blades, and wherein areprovided means to guide the cutting element independently of the razorblade, yet also to guide and hold the razor blade to prevent its flexingduring the cutting operation. 7

I have discovered that such a cutting element will not operatesatisfactorily on both paper stock and board stock except as the angleof the razor blade is changed for each type of work, and it is a furtherobject, therefore, to devise a cutting element for use in such a device,wherein the angle of the blade may be readily and quickly changed andset at the proper angle without the necessity of measurement or carefuladjustment by the operator.

Since such a device must be capable of clamping and holding stock ofvarious thicknesses, from a single sheet of thin paper to a piece ofwall board, it is a further object to provide selfadiusting means whichwill permit the clamping element which I employ to accommodate itselfnaturally and automatically to the different thicknesses, yet to holdeach securely.

Since a clamping arm is employed in my device, and it should be of lightmaterial for ease in handling and for cheapness, it is a further objectto so mount the two ends thereof and to hold these two ends in placeagainst any movement laterally of the clamping arm, so that the lattermay serve as a guide for the cutting element, and will be positionedexactly parallel to the groove which I employ as a guide and support forthe razor blade.

Other objects, particularly such as pertain to mechanical details, willbecomev apparent as this specification progresses.

My invention comprises the novel parts, and

I the novel combination and arrangement thereof by the claims whichterminate the same.

In the accompanying drawing I have shown my invention embodied in a formwhich is at 10 present preferred by me, it being understood that variouschanges may be made from the form illustrated, within the scope of theclaims.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device in operation.

Figure 2 is an end view of the device, parts being broken away.

Figure'3 is a fragmentary view similar to Figure 2, showing the cuttingelement in operative position, and showing how the device accom-Qllmodates itself to diilerent thicknesses of stock.

Figure 4 is a transverse section through the cutting element, board andclamping arm, showing the operative relationship of the parts.

Figure 5 is a longitudinal section through the 25 slide forming part ofthe cutting element, showing the razor blade supported thereon.

The device comprises essentially a board 2, along one edge of which maybe secured a ruler 20, a clamping arm 3 which is placed at right angles.to the ruler 3 and which is hinged at a from a support secured to theboard -to cooperate with the board in clamping and holding stock Splaced upon the board, and a slide l movable along the clamping arm 3and carrying a blade Ill projecting below the slide and past the planeof the board's surface to cut through the stock held between theclamping arm and the board.

For cheapness and convenience of manufacture, and because it is lightand easy to handle, 40 the clamping arm 3 may be formed as a tube ofrectangular cross section. At one end, preferably adjacent the ruler 20,if the latter is employed,

a supporting arm 4 is mounted, this being preferably in the form of aflat spring suitably secured, 45 as by a screw '40, to the board I, andprojecting thence upwardly, as indicated at 4|, and then outwardly. Thetube is recessed, as is best seen in Figures 2 and 3, and the supportingarm 4, or

o at least the upwardly extending portion 4| thereof, 50

is made of a width to exactly fill the recess within the tubular arm 3,which is hingedly connected to the outer end of the supporting arm 4 bythe pivot pin 30. Thus when the clamping arm 3 is swung downwardlytowards the board 2 the sup- 65 porting amt. fitting exactly within itsrecess,

.will prevent movement ofthe clamping arm 3 relative to'the boardtransversely of the clamping r purpose of obtaining a better grip theunder surface of theclamping' arm may be faced with a the legs of theslide l the razor blade so that'whilethe structure may be simple n amggfig entof this end of the clampa'swinging movement-about ing armothe'r' I e the pivot pin flimsy bepermitted. By making thesupportingarm I of spring'niaterial it-permits the clamping. arm toyield vertically relatively to thesurface-of the board to accommodate.

diflerent thicknesses of stuck. as maybe seen by comparison of Figures 2and 3.

Adjacent the swinging en'dof the clamping arm a catch is provided, thisbeing secured .to theupper surface ofthe board and projecting into arecess in the tubular clamping arm,.this catch being of a width to filltherecess and being formed .preferably of a piece of flat metal bentupon itself,

hence it prevents transverse movement. of this end of the clamping-armin the same way that the supporting arm 4 prevents such movement at theother end. The catch 5 may be somewhat spring-like, and-so positionedandformed as to engage an edge ll of the recess in the clamping arm tohold this swinging endof the clamping arm 'downagainst the board oragainst stock which may be placed upon the board. j For the strip ofrubber, as-ihdicated at jl, and immediately beneath this, upon thesurface of the board 2, may be placed a strip 2! of'sandpaper. Theslidel ispreferably bifurcated to closely embrace the arm 3, so that itmay be guided by On one of this arm whilevmoving therealong.

7 I0 is secured. Preferably this is the outer 'leg', and the razor bladeis secured on the. inner face of this leg,

' where it will be closely adjacent the'clamping arm 3, yet it actsoutside the clamping arm, and

any failure to cut properly may be immediately observed. As seen inFigure 5, the razor blade is of a type readily available on the market,having a longitudinal slit ll. Abolt l2-may be passed through one end ofthis slit l l and through a hole provided therefor in the leg of theslide I, and a complemental bolt It may be passedthrough the other endof the slot l I and through an arcuate slot M in the slide. It hasbeen'discovered that the blade should form a reasonably acute angle tothe guide surfaces 'l5-of the slide which rest upon the top of theclamping arm 3 when paper is to be cut, but that the angle shouldbe'greater when board-stock is to be cut, hence by providing the arcuateslot H, or the equivalent, two spaced holes the angle of the blade maybe readily adjusted in accordance with the character of the stock to becut, and the operator I may-change the adjustment and know that he 60vstock in addition to the guide afforded by themounting of the slide Iupon the clamping arm 3.

Accordingly at the end of the board 2, adjacent the clamping arm 3 andparallel to it, I provide two metallic strips 22 and 23, suitablysecured to the board as by the screws 24, and slightly spaced tome arma. by 12 and 2:.

It thus projects below, Such by washers 2S (see Figure 4), and thegroove thus formed between these two metal strips receives theprojecting part of the blade l0, and these strips are spaced onlysuiliciently to receive theblade,

and therefore closely embrace, support andgulde. 5

the blade, and prevent its flexingJ Thus the slide is guided mainly bythe clamping arm 3', yet

the bladev is additionally guided and supported so e that it will notrun off along a curve or atan" angle the groove between the strips It isbelieved the manner of'useof thedevice self-evident from the abovedescription. and from the accompanyingdrawing,

r the advantages attained by its r 15 What I claim as my invention'isz.1 1 1. A cutter of the character "described,'.com-

prising a board, a tubular clamping arm,'nie"ans hingedly-supporting,one end of said-arm from v board, a catch upon the board distant from asaid hinge means, comprising a flat metallic piece folded upon itself,the tubular am being apervtured to receive said catch, the sides ofsaid. aperture engaging the ends of the catch, to prevent transversemovement or the arm, and one end edge engaging the catch to hold the rmtoftheboard to clamp-stockplaced upon the board,

and a blade-carrying slide movable along the arm tocjut stock thusclamped.

2.; A-cutterof'the character described, comprising 'a; .board,a tubularclamp n arm,

hingedly supporting one end of said armfrom the board, ajcatchupon theboard distant from said hinge. means, comprising a flat metallic piecefolded-"upon itselL-the tubular arm-being aperturedfto receive saidcatch, the sides-of said aperture engagingthe'ends of the catch toprevent transverse movement of the arm, and one end edge'engaging thecatch to hold the arm down to the board to-clamp'stock placed upon theboard, the board having a groove adjacent and parallel .to the arm, anda slide having a downwardly projecting blade movable along the arm, theblade then closely received in the groove to be held'therein'ag'ainstflexing. I j

3. A slide for cutters of. the character described, comprising a bodybifurcated to be guided for movement along a longitudinal guide, a razorblade having 'an elongated slot, a hole in one leg of said body adaptedto register with one end "of the razor blade's slot, and a boltextending through both, thereby to hold the razor blade projecting belowthe body, a second bolt passing through the opposite end of said slot,and the body having an arcuate slot to receive said second bolt foradjustment of the angle of the blade about the first bolt, according tothe thickness of the material to be cut. I a

4. A cutter of the character described, comprising. a board, a tubularclamping arm, a flat springarm mounted at one end upon the board, andextending thence upwardly and then outwardly, a hinge support for theclamping arm at the outer end of said spring arm, the clamping arm beingrecessed to receive and closely embrace the upwardly extending portionof the spring arm, when in clamping position, to prevent relativemovement between this end of the clamping arm and-the board,transversely of the clamping arm, means interengageable between theboard and the swinging end of the clamping arm to hold v the clampingarm down to the board to clamp stock placed upon the board, and toprevent relative movement between this end of the clamping arm and theboard, transversely ofthe clamping arm, and a blade-carrying slidemovable along the clamping arm to cut stock clamped thereby.

5. A cutter of the character described, comprising a board, a clampingarm formed of hollow rectangular tubing, means to hold said arm down tothe board to clamp stock placed upon the board, said means projectingwithin the hollow arm and spanning the cavity to engage both sidesthereof, thus to prevent its displacement transversely. a slide guidedfor movement lengthwise of said arm, and a cutting blade carried by andprojecting below said slide.

6. A cutter of the character described, comprising a board, a clampingarm, means hingedly supporting one end of said am from the board, meansinterengageable between the board and the swinging end of the arm tohold the am down to clamp stock placed upon the board, said hinge meansbeing yieldable towards and from the board to accommodate stock ofwidely varying thicknesses and incorporating means to press the armagainst the stock with substantially the same pressure irrespective ofits thickness, and m a blade-carrying slide movable along the arm to cutstock thus clamped.

ROSS R. MATTHEWS.

